PS3 Owners Want MMOs! Survey Results Revealed

There’s something Christmasy about surveys. Whether it’s being accosted on the street by a clipboard wielding lunatic decked out in an elf costume or listing off your new wares to anyone who’ll listen, we love Christmas and we love lists.

So, how much did you spend on your loved ones this year? Will you be travelling home for the holidays? Will you be spending Christmas Day in front of your PS3 shirking off well-wishes and covert mistletoe shenanigans from fat aunts? Questions, questions.

Well, this month we ran two surveys and the response we got to both was truly outstanding with responsesÂ in the thousands. Thanks guys.Â It’s now time to dish the dirt on the larger of our questionnaires regarding MMOs. Read on.

We’ve already revealed how PS3 users feel about timed exclusive DLC (the short version is: You want the GTAIV content and you pretty much will wait ’til Hell freezes over to get it) but back at the start of December we also tested the waters and tried to gauge how you guys are feeling about the impending MMO storm coming our way on the PS3.

We asked 10 questions however, depending on your answers, you may have been dumped out of the survey early. After all, if you detest the whole MMO genre as a whole we hardly need to hear about which MMO you’re most looking forward to, do we?

Here are the results accompanied with some commentary from yours truly.

Q.1 Do you currently play MMOs?

NoÂ Â (61%)

YesÂ Â (39%)

Straight off the mark we have an interesting ratio. Two out of every five PS3 owners also play MMOs. That’s a staggering amount and just goes to show how popular the MMO genre is with gamers in general. We should mention that we’ve sent these results to SCEE (as if they don’t do their own market research) and we’re sure that, considering the amount of money and effort they’re pumping into the MMO genre for the PS3, that 39% figure will warm the cockles of their cybernetically enhanced hearts. But wait, it gets better.

Q.2 How many hours a week do you play MMOs?

Between 5 hours and 10 hours per weekÂ Â (55%)

Over 20 hours per week. I need helpÂ Â (27%)

Less than 5 hours per weekÂ Â (18%)

There seems to be a healthy (or unhealthy – depends on how you look at it) split between the casual player (18%) and those who spent the weekend of November 14th – 16th frantically leveling up to 80. The rest of the group seem to be categorised as “normal” and the PS3 MMO genre will simply be another feather in an already burgeoning quiver.

Q.3 What MMOs do you currently play?

Other Option… Â Â (29%)

Some mad Korean stuff we’ve never heard ofÂ Â (21%)

World of WarcraftÂ Â (15%)

EverQuestÂ Â (9%)

Final Fantasy XIÂ Â (11%)

Warhammer OnlineÂ Â (6%)

EVEÂ Â (5%)

Age of ConanÂ Â (4%)

Tabula RasaÂ Â (0%)

City of Heroes/VillainsÂ Â (0%)

If we’re being honest (and we always try to be) we were a little surprised by these results. Firstly, obviously our console driven minds completely over-estimated the allure of WoW as we thought it would take a large slice of the percentile pie. Not so. It also appears that our “joke” Korean option was actually more accurate than we thought with one in five people choosing games we’ve never heard of. That said, this was a multiple choice question so maybe people were feeling fruity and clicked on it for the comedy value. What do we know? The “Other” responses garnered some very interesting results. We totally forgot about Diablo II (our bad) and didn’t think Neverwinter Nights and Phantasy Star Universe were still in anyway popular (once again, we suck). It goes to show that we won’t be setting up www.MMOAttitude.com anytime soon. Finally, considering Tabula Rasa’s recent woes (and the fact that it’s now free to play until they shut the servers down) it’s no surprise that not one soul picked it in the survey. Ouch. That’s harsh.

Some of the other MMOs mentioned in the results.

Diablo II

Shin Megami Tensei Imagine

Soul of the Ultimate Nation (SUN)

Eqoa

Neverwinter Nights

Phantasy Star Universe

On to question 4 where things get a little … prophetic.

Q.4 Do you see yourself becoming a PS3 MMO player?

I’d like to. I’m more a casual player thoughÂ Â (29%)

I’m really interested. I’ll probably spend a significant amount of time on them when the MMOs are released on the PS3Â Â (29%)

I’m eagerly awaiting games such as The Agency. In the future, I foresee myself spending most of my time on MMOs Â (24%)

I have no plans to ever play MMOs on the PS3Â Â (18%)

More interesting statistics with the results nearly spread evenly across the spectrum. For the one in five out there that have absolutely no plans of playing MMOs on their PS3 they are countered with nearly one in four who reckon that, once the games hit, they’ll probably be spending most of their gaming time in online persistent worlds.

Q5. Of the following MMOs confirmed for the PS3, which one interests you the most?

The AgencyÂ (37%)

SquareEnix’s New Final Fantasy MMOÂ Â (29%)

Star Trek OnlineÂ Â (13%)

DC Universe OnlineÂ Â (11%)

Free Realms Â (10%)

Now we get down to the nitty-gritty. SOE’s spook action thriller “The Agency” takes top honours though there is still significant interest in SE’s Final Fantasy offering. Everything else makes up the numbers with free-to-play “Free Realms” taking bottom spot. Considering it’s focusing on the younger PS3 market, we’re not that surprised.

Q.6 What other MMO would you like to see appear on the PS3?

World of WarcraftÂ Â (20%)

Star Wars: The Old EmpireÂ Â (20%)

Elder ScrollsÂ Â (16%)

Other Option…Â Â (15%)

Age of ConanÂ Â (13%)

EVEÂ Â (8%)

Warhammer OnlineÂ Â (8%)

WoW and Star Wars get the nod. 16% want something else and we got suggestions from Stargate to Final Fantasy XI (which was going to happen by the way but somehow got dropped). Angels Online also gets a mention “since the Japanese have it.” Well, we can’t have the Japanese having something we don’t now can we!

Q.7 What existing franchise would you like to see get the MMO treatment?

FalloutÂ Â (28%)

Other Option…Â Â (24%)

Grand Theft AutoÂ Â (20%)

Metal Gear SolidÂ Â (20%)

God of War Â (8%)

Call of DutyÂ (0%)

This was one of the harder questions to frame as, technically, anything can be made into an MMO (not everything should of course). We proffered some of the more obvious choices but we knew the “Other Option” choice would feature highly in the results. You did not disappoint.

Suggestions came in and covered a gamut of games, genres and styles. Some of the suggestions included Oblivion, Persona, Rock Band and Dungeon Master. Oh, and Final Fantasy got some more votes but we kinda covered that in Question 5. How and ever … other suggestions were so insane that we can’t even write about them. Seriously, Sypro? Really?

Q.8 Is the PS3 better positioned among the competing consoles for the MMO genre?

Yes – because of all or a combination of the other reasons givenÂ Â (72%)

Yes – PSN is free which means users will not have to pay for Internet, gaming and subscription to play (just Internet and maybe subscription)Â Â (16%)

No – The PS3 has no distinct advantage that I can seeÂ Â (8%)

Yes – official keyboard and mouse support goes a long way in my book Â (4%)

Yes – guaranteed hard-drive means it has the edge over its nearest rivalsÂ Â Â (0%)

Yes – the new textpad makes the difference Â (0%)

No – the 360 has the upper-hand considering it has the larger install base which is what successful MMOs rely uponÂ Â (0%)

No – the 360 has the better textpad which is a big factor to me Â (0%)

No – the Wii is better suited … for a reason this surveyor can’t think of.Â Â (0%)

We kind of knew where the allegiances were going to fall with this one (this is a PS3 site after all) but we offered people the chance to vote for the Wii or the 360 if they so desired. It seems some impartial voting did occur with 8% of people believing the PS3 has absolutely no advantage over the other consoles when it comes to supporting MMOs. Nearly three quarters of people however did acknowledge the fact that with hard-drives, keyboards and free gaming models etc. the PS3 is out in front when it comes to this new genre coming to the next-gen consoles.

Q.9 What subscription model do you think would be best for PS3 MMOs?

Free – but with in-game advertising to keep the world alive with new content, robust servers, etc.Â Â (36%)

Subscription based – works for WoW so why not for games on the PS3?Â Â (24%)

A complex hybrid of the above that would make your mind explode if you tried to figure it outÂ Â (24%)

Micro-transaction – small payments for new optional content should be the way to go.Â Â (12%)

Free – I’m crazy and have no idea of how MMOs work and I believe I shouldn’t have to keep paying for a game I’ve already bought.Â Â Â (4%)

Other (blood donations, pebbles, first born…)Â Â Â (0%)

Looks like in-game advertising is the model of choice. Shhh! Don’t tell Pepsi or they’ll be throwing their products in everywhere. A high percentage see the PC favoured model of recurring subscription charges as the best way forward. 4% are living in cloud cuckoo land and think MMOs should be completely free while no one had any other suggestions (or offered up their first born which was a tad disappointing).

Q.10 If a subscription based model is offered – how much would you pay?

The Naysayer – I’m not paying a subscription. You’ll never take me alive! Â (36%)

The Agnostic – I have no idea. Depends on the game. Depends on a lot of things. It … depends.Â Â Â (15%)

Cheap Ass – Less than â‚¬/Â£/$5 a month and we can talk.Â Â (4%)

The 4% that don’t want to pay anything obviously chimed in with the option to pay as little as possible it seems. Makes sense. There is a strong anti-subscription lobby however (probably the same people that want in-game advertising). With a more optimistic take on the genre, most people are hoping the new arena of PS3 MMOs will be treated a little differently and entice new players into the genre with low monthly payments.

Bonus question!

Q.11 BONUS QUESTION: What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?

European?Â Â (28%)

African?Â Â (16%)

What the…?Â Â (56%)

For getting to the end of the survey we asked the most obvious of questions. African or European? We did give the option for readers who hadn’t a clue about the in-joke to vote accordingly. Our survey shows that over half of PS3 Attitude readers are not Monty Python fans. Apparently.

There you have it. Surprised by the results? Let us know in the comments.